Zoe’s new Elemental Shaman class was quite the boon for Zoe and Emma’s little garden outside over the following few months. Though the garden expanded much more than either expected after they saw how effective her skill was. The few rows of boxes filled with plants grew to be a small field that stretched along the base of the hill, with herbs and food sprouting from the ground. Several of the trees nearby were chopped down and uprooted, replaced with fruit trees from which colourful fruits hung.

A nice benefit to Elemental Creation was in letting them grow plants that wouldn’t normally thrive in their climate. Trees that grew in warmer regions, herbs that liked more rain than they got. Elemental Creation filled them with life and let them thrive regardless of the conditions they were thrust in.

Though, most of the plants they kept were native to the forests around Foizo — even if Zoe could supplement their needs, when she wasn’t around the plants would inevitably die. Zoe tried out a few different enchantments with Elemental Creation, but none were powerful enough to keep the foreign flora alive on their own.

Emma could supplement the enchantment with her own magic and some extra supplies, but the two decided it just wasn’t worth the trouble. Maybe if they had a dedicated gardening class, it would provide some longer lasting effects they could use. But Zoe’s class wasn’t a one stop shop for all their gardening needs on its own.

The limitation frustrated Zoe. Her class was good, and she liked it, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. Would she ever get everything she wanted? Sometimes she wanted to explore dungeons, sometimes she wanted to settle down in Foizo and relax in her garden. Sometimes she wanted to build a home, sometimes she wanted to travel the world. Would she ever get the right assortment of classes for herself?

Sometimes she wished she could save preset combinations of classes for herself. Get to level two hundred with a purpose built gardening class and save it as her gardening build, then switch it out for her dungeon build. But every time she wanted to switch her classes, she had to start all over from the beginning — and as she continued to get even better classes, where the beginning was kept getting later and later.

At first it was her Seasoned Persistence class, now it’s her Cosmic Mystic class that she never wanted to be without. Once she got an enchanting class to match those then she’d be starting from her fifth class! There were so many things to do, and so few things she could do at once.

Of course, she could take the time to get everything she wanted as a general skill — or at least most things. Could she even get mana sight as a general skill? Or would that be something she’d have to modify her body or soul to make possible? Doing so was something she’d never even tried to do before, not seriously at least.

It was a terrifying idea, trying to modify her body and soul. The system did it whenever she took a new class, but even then it was sometimes intensely painful. Doing it herself, without any experience or knowledge of what she was doing? She could be paralyzed for life, and without any way of fixing it.

Or would the system fix it for her if she took another class and let it modify her body and soul to accommodate the changes? She hoped she’d never have to find out.

The strange mana surrounding Kaira library continued to grow, and the emotions in Foizo twisted between anxiety and excitement. Many people were scared of what was happening, worried for what it meant for their town. A handful of people left every month, fleeing for other towns away from the mounting pressure of Flester’s ruins. But most seemed excited, and talks were common of a possible dungeon forming so near them.

Nobody seemed to know for sure what was happening, no voice of authority talking of some previous relevant experience. From what Zoe could tell, it seemed unprecedented. No books talking of mana behaving so strangely, no stories passed down through the generations that spoke of mana moving so coherently.

Outside of dungeons, anyway. In dungeons, mana behaving strangely was common. In fact, it was the defining feature of dungeons. Mana moving with a purpose, behaving in unpredictable ways was what made dungeons, dungeons.

Several people had ventured into Kaira library, through the dense web of mana — Zoe included. But nothing seemed different inside, the burned wooden walls looked the same. The piles of books resting at the bottom of the pit were all still there, wasting away. There were no monsters to fend off, no shadows lurking just out of sight waiting to pounce on them.

The inside of the library was the same as it always was, or at least had been since the fall of Flester. Even the mana inside seemed normal, not reacting to the dense blanket that covered the outside of the trees.

Early on in her stay at Foizo, Zoe tested the limits of her Cosmic Step skill with her friends and found that not only did the skill let her bring somebody else with her, it didn’t seem to have a limit to how many she brought. The only requirement was that they were touching — so the soft limit would be however many people could touch Zoe at one time, and besides that the mana cost seemed to scale linearly with each person.

It was a nice thing to know in a pinch, but knowing how her skill would work if she teleported somebody into a tree or wall made it a little uncomfortable to do in closed spaces. For quick teleportation through the skies, it was safe and easy. But through the forests or into her cave? Zoe didn’t even want to attempt it. Just the thought of severing her friends by accidentally teleporting them into a door sent shudders through her body.

Joe had suggested Zoe use her skill to help transport people who wanted to leave to Korna — even if she was taking three or four people the journey would only be a few minutes long for her with her teleportation abilities. But while it would be helpful to people, being known as a Moaning Point escort was already troubling enough. Let alone having everybody know she could move them from Foizo to wherever they wanted to go in a matter of minutes.

As the mana in Flester’s ruins continued to grow, several mages who stayed in Foizo built large towers on Foizo’s walls that peered over the forest’s canopy to view the powerful mana that ebbed and flowed over the city ruins. Even from such a distance, the dense blanket of mana was visible as clear as day to Zoe and many of the other mages who stood on the tower watching.

By the middle of autumn, several months after Zoe had arrived, the mana that blanketed Flester’s ruins had grown so dense that even many who lacked mana sight had begun to feel it. A subtle blur in the distance, and a pressure on their eyes as they stared at the ruined city to the south.

In recent days, the mana had expanded beyond Kaira library and begun to blanket the entire city. It seemed to pulse as the city breathed in mana, starting from the towering trees and radiating outwards like a wave of power.

Zoe stood up on a tower she made, with Joe, Emma and Jeffrey watching the mana surge in the distance. Foizo had grown quiet since the mana spread from Kaira library, excitement radiating from every person she passed on the streets. People stared out at Flester’s ruins in anticipation, waiting for the final climax of whatever it was the mana was trying to do.

“Did you see that?" Jeffrey asked Zoe, pointing at the towering Kaira library trees. A surge of mana rushed from the trees, far more powerful than any of its normal breaths. It rushed through the city like a tsunami of mana, smashing through ruined buildings and covering them in colourful wisps of light.

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“Of course I did. How could I miss it?" Zoe asked, staring at the scene in the distance. ”Wanna get closer?“

“What’s happening?" Emma asked. ”What is all of that?"

“I have no idea. A lot of mana is happening.” Zoe said. “So much mana.” Another surge of power rushed out from the trees, piling up even more of the dense blanket of mana that covered the town.

Joe squinted. “It’s hard to look at. Is everything okay?”

“You can get us closer?" Jeffrey asked as another wave of mana rushed across the city. ”How much closer?“

“I have no idea, Joe. Whatever is going on is happening now, though.” Zoe said. “I can get us as close as we want to be. I’m going closer, I want to see whatever this is. Any of you want to come?”

Joe shook his head. “I’m okay out here.”

“Me too,” Emma said. “I might come join you soon though.”

“I’m coming.” Jeffrey said. Zoe grabbed his shoulder and teleported the two of them out to just outside of Flester’s ruins.

From up close, the mana was incredible. A bright blanket of light that stopped at the edge of Flester’s walls. Another wave of mana crashed through the city and smashed into the boundary of Flester’s walls and the wilderness beyond like an ocean wave crashing onto a cliff.

“Can you take us up?” Jeffrey asked. “Over to Kaira library? I want to see it up close.”

Zoe shook her head. “No. I can take us up, but if you want to go inside this mess you’ll have to do it yourself. I’m not going to be responsible for you dying to whatever this is.”

Jeffrey sighed. “You’re right. Julia would kill me if she knew I was even this close. But how can you resist, seeing all of this? It’s incredible.”

Zoe nodded as she floated the two of them up a bit higher to get a view of more of the city. Several others came running through the forest or floating over with magics of their own, though none stepped foot beyond the boundary of Flester’s walls.

“How many people can say they’ve seen a dungeon form this close? We’re going to be in quite the exclusive group now.” An older woman said, floating up next to Zoe and Jeffrey on a plate of silver metal.

“You think it’s a dungeon?” Jeffrey asked.

“What else would it be?" Zoe asked.

“I believe it’s a powerful mage casting a spell still, personally. Perhaps something to preserve the information within the library or the history of the city.” A man said as he floated up next to the growing group on a comically large sword.

“Who’s to say it can’t be both? We hardly know the truth of how dungeons are formed anyway. Maybe there is a powerful mage casting a spell inside, and perhaps that spell creates a dungeon.” Another person added as they ran up beneath the group and rose on a pillar of grass.

“You’re still walking everywhere, Ernest?” The older woman asked.

Ernest rolled his eyes. “Yes, Eleanor. I am walking. And you should do the same sometime.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Enough bickering.” The man floating on the large sword said as another wave of mana crashed into the boundary around Flester’s ruins.

Zoe and Jeffrey floated around Flester, watching the phenomenon from every perspective they could. Waves crashed up against the boundary of Flester’s ruins time and time again, but never crossed it. Not one single wisp of light drifted away from the city, and the mana kept piling up in the city over the course of several hours as waves continued radiating out from Kaira library and crashing into the invisible wall that surrounded the city.

The mana continued building up, piling onto the city like the tide racing up a beach until it reached its climax. All of the violent swirling stopped, and Flester’s ruins were overcome by a silent stillness.

Emma appeared next to Zoe and Jeffrey, and Zoe caught her in a suit of earth. “What’s happening?” She asked.

Zoe shrugged. “No clue. Is it over?”

The three watched the still city for several minutes, waiting for something to happen.

“Maybe?" Jeffrey said. ”Nothing’s happening anymore.“

Several other interested people floated and ran around the city, confusion and intrigue radiating from everybody that came within reach of Zoe’s Empathy. And then as quick as the mana had stopped its movements, it sprung into action again.

The dense ocean of mana that covered the city expanded, reaching up along the invisible wall that surrounded the city before it all crashed back down and smashed into the ground. Zoe watched as an enormous rush of mana flooded through the city towards Kaira library, while the rest drifted towards the ruined buildings and created even more rubble where they were.

Ruined buildings were erected from the ground in an instant, remnants of Flester’s mysticism brought back to life. Damaged crystal balls and marble buildings were created with destroyed windows and large sections missing, with deep scorch marks along their sides.

The mana that rushed towards Kaira library raced up along the trunks and formed a large wooden platform that nestled in over the top of them, covering the park in the middle in shade. Purple flames lit up the trees, covering the canopy and the new wooden platform in an opaque, flickering purple light that reached to the skies above.

*DING* For witnessing the creation of a dungeon, you have been awarded with the [Flester’s Might] feat.

Zoe brought up the description as soon as she got the notification.

[Flester’s Might]

You have born witness to the creation of [Flester’s Might]. Increased rewards from [Flester’s Might].

“Did y’all get the feat too?" Zoe asked.

Emma and Jeffrey both nodded, their eyes out of focus as they read through the system’s messages themselves.

“It really was a dungeon.” Emma said.

“I bet that’s where the boss is.” Jeffrey pointed to the wooden platform obscured by the purple flames.

“No, really?” Zoe laughed. “I’m gonna go explore the dungeon. You two coming or want a ride back to Foizo?" Zoe asked.

“I’ll come,” Emma said.

“No way I’m not coming.” Jeffrey said.